Sand traps



Oct. 25, 1960 F. sAARf ErAL SAND TRAPS Filed Jan. a, 1954 A Q. mfmi 9 Y. 5 5 WN Eby j v 1- d Il.. ,w w l Y ZI l W m Z a 7 J 1 w States Patent E SAND TRAPS Frank Saari, `Oak Park, and Grant V. W. Roth, Evanston,

Ill., assignors to Monarch Equipment Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Llan. 8, 1954, Ser. No. 403,011

3 Claims. (Cl. 291-11) Other objects will appear from the detailed description.`

The invention consists in the several novel -features hereinafter described and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

=Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a sand trap embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Pig. 3 is a perspective view of the inlet section of the sand trap;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the outlet section of the sand trap; and

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of.Fig. 1.

IThe trap comprises a casing or housing which is composed of separable sections which are demountably secured together. VOne casing section embodies the structure which functions as an inlet unit into which sand gravitates from the dome and in which the sand does not produce wear by abrasion. An inlet valve for arresting the flow of sand through the inlet casing section is provided in said section, and is not subjected to abrasive wear. The other casing section functions as an outlet unit and embodies the structure or parts which are subjected to highly abrasive wear. This outlet unit includes a chamber into which the sand flows from the inlet unit, an'air jet for loosening and providing turbulence in the sand in said chamber, and an air jet for siphoning the loose or turbulent sand from said `chamber and discharging it to the rails. The abrasive wear of the sand produced by the compressed air in the outlet sections during sanding operations necessitates occasional replacement for maintaining the desired efficiency in sanding. By embodying all of the parts which become worn in the outlet unit, the trap may be restored by substitution of a new section for the worn outlet section without disconnection of the inlet unit from the dome. Each casing section consists of a one piece casting.

The inlet section of the casing is generally designated and the discharge section is generally designated 11. Complemental faces 12 and 13 on the inlet section 10 and the discharge section 11, respectively, are removably secured together with a packing gasket 14 between them, by bolts 15 which extend through ears 16 which project laterally from the sections 10 and 11. The inlet section 10 has a vertical inlet leg 17, the upper end of which is communicatingly coupled to a pipe or fitting 18 which receives sand from the usual dome (not shown). A cylindrical valve 20 tits in a bushing 21 in section 10 and 2 has an opening 22' therein which, when in registry with ports 23 in bushing 21, permits sand to flow from the upper portion of inlet leg 17 to its lower portion. Valve 20 is rotatable to cut ot the delivery of sand from the` 5 dome to the lower portion of leg 17. The valve 20 is endwise insertable into the bushing 21 and is held therein by a cap 24 which is secured by bolts 25 to casing section 10. Valve 2t) is rotatable by means of a lug 26. The function of valve 20 is to cut off the supply of sand to 10 the lower portion of the inlet leg of the trap, when the discharge section 11 is disconnected from the inlet section 10. A screw plug 31 is provided at the lower end of leg 17 for access to said sand which may become clogged in leg 17.

15 The lower end of inlet leg 17 communicates with a laterally extending outlet passage 30 which terminates at the face 12 of section 10 and has a straight upper and a semicircular lower contour. The sand iiows by gravity through the inlet leg- 17 so that the surfaces in said leg 20 areV not subjected to any substantial abrasive wear, and' therefore .it does not become necessary to replace the inlet section of the casing or said parts.

The discharge section 11 of the casing is provided with a horizontal chamber or leg 32 which terminates at the face 13 of said section and has a straight upper and semi-y circular contour conforming to the duct at the face 12 of section 10; a cylindrical horizontal conduit 33 which communicates with a pipe 34 which delivers the sand to the rails and is disposed `above the level of chamber 32;

30 and a vertical passage 35 connecting chamber 32 and conduit 33.

A pipe 36 is connected by a suitable coupling 37 to a supply of compressed air, and communicates with a supply conduit in the form of cross duct 38 in one side of casing section 11. A conduit 39 substantially coaxial with conduit 33 communicatively connects ducts 38 and conduit 34 for discharging a jet of compressed air into conduit 33 for expelling sand through pipe 34. A small port 40 extends between conduit 39 and the upper por- 40 tion 0f chamber 32 for delivering air into chamber 32 to produce turbulence of the sand in said chamber.

A valve 42 is provided in the duct 39 between inlet conduit 38 and outlet conduit 39 for variably controlling the flow of air to the outlet conduit 33. This valve 42 is in 45 the form of a screw threaded to the casing section 11 I and is adapted to'extend across the duct 39 to cut off Imore or less of the air discharged from conduit 38 into conduit 33 and proportionably varying the airV forced through porttil into chamber 32. A head 43 is provided on the upper end of valve 43 for adjusting it, and a lock nut 44 is adapted to lock the valve in its set position.

The sand fills the inlet leg 17 and gravitates into chamber 32 in which the normal sand line is indicated by dotted line x. For a sanding operation, the engineer will set the usual air supply valve to deliver compressed air through pipe 36 into the duct 38. The restricted ilow of air from the inner end of conduit 39 through port 40 produces turbulence in the sand in the chamber 32, depending upon the volume of air which is diverted rom the conduit 39 into the discharge conduit 33 by the valve 42. For example, as the valve 42 is adjusted to restrain the flow into conduit 33, the iiow through port 40 and to the sand in leg 32, the turbulence or agitation of the sand in chamber 32 is increased and the sip-honic action of the air in conduit 33 is decreased. As the valve 42 is adjusted to increase the flow through duct 39, the iow of air through port 40 and the agitation of the sand is decreased. The jet of air from conduit 33 directed into the discharge pipe 34 will Siphon the loosened or turbulent 7o sand from chamber 32 through the conduit 35 which acts as a venturi passage into the conduit 33 from which it will be discharged through pipe 34 to the rails. 'By ad- Paiented oef. 25, 1960 justment of valve 42, the volume of the air-flow into pipe 34 and through port 40 may be relatively varied for varying the turbulence of the sand in the leg 32 land the suction created in conduit for different conditions of sand and conditions which require the delivery of different quantities oi sand to the rails. When the wear in the section 1 1 becomes sufficient to render the trap ineicient, it is only necessary to replace the worn section 11 with a new one. This replacement can be easily and expeditiously made. In making such a replacement, the valve 20 is first closed to cut oi the ilow of sand from the dome to the inlet section of the trap. Pipe 36 is disconnected at coupling 37 from the air supply line. Bolts 15 are then removed `from ears 16 and section 11 is de,- tached from section 10. Section 11 can then be unscrewed from pipe 34. The inlet section remains connected to the sand dome. A new casing section l11 is the-n substituted for the removed section, connected to the pipe 34 and to the air supply line and secured by bolts 15 to the inlet section.

Important characteristics and advantages of the invention are, that there is no air delivery jet in the inlet section of the casing and that the air port 40 for producing turbulence in said chamber, and the conduit 33 which siphons the turbulent sand from said chamber, are both in the outlet section 10 of the casing. As a result, there is substantially no wear from abrasive action of the sand in the inlet section and all of the parts which are subjected to such abrasive action are in an integral part of the outlet section 11 of the casing. By closing valve 20 before making the substitution, loss of sand will be avoided. This ysubstitution of the outlet unit can be readily and expeditiously made with minimum interruption in service when making the change, because the section 11 embodies all the parts which are subjected to high wear from abrasion, is simple in construction and can be produced at a low cost. The valve 43 and pipe section 36 can be removed from the worn unit for re-use.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A trap for use with a rail sanding device, said trap comprising a casing including separable inlet and outlet sections, the inlet section having la vertical leg communicatively connected to receive sand from a dome, the outlet section embodying a chamber at one side of the vertical leg, said chamber presenting a generally horizontal axis and communicating at one end thereof with the lower end of said vertical leg, a discharge conduit presenting a generally horizontal axis offset upwardly relatively to the axis of said chamber and communicating with the while the latter remains communicatively connected to the dome.

2. A trap for use with a rail sanding device as set forth in claim 1 and wherein said port for delivering compressed air to produce turbulence in said chamber is in mutual communication with the chamber and the duct for delivering air from the supply conduit to the discharge conduit.

3. A trap adapted for use with a rail sanding device and comprising a casing including separable inlet and outlet sections, said inlet section embodying a vertical leg communicatively connected to receive sand from a dome, the lower end of said leg being provided with an outlet passage for sand, the outlet section embodying a chamber in horizontal communication with said outlet passage for reception of sand issuing from said outlet passage, said outlet section embodying additionally a discharge conduit disposed adjacent to said chamber and having one end thereof in communicattion with the upper region of the chamber, a supply conduit for compressed air, `embodied in said outlet section and adapted to be connected at one end to a source of compressed air, there being a duct in `said outlet section establishing communication between the supply conduit and said discharge conduit, there being a bleeder port in said outlet section, establishing communication between said duct and chamber, whereby, when a predetermined minimum volume of air passes through the duct, back pressure is developed within the Yduct between the valve and supply conduit and air is forced through the port to create turbulence in said chamber, and means detachably connecting the sections in their operative relationship whereby the outlet section may be removed from the inlet section for replacement purposes while the inlet section remains in communication with said dome.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 758,118 Sticker Apr. 26, 1904 783,218 Murray Feb. 21, 1905 A914,425 King Mar. 9, 1909 1,089,541 Ebersole Mar. 10, 1914 1,147,587 Yard et al. .Tuly 20, 1915 1,459,737 Light et al. June 26, 1923 1,735,097 Vissering Nov. 12, 1929 ,1,755,598 Hanlon et al Apr. 22, 1930 2,638,369 Saari et al. May 12, 1953 

